


Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Darkness Within

by VGManiac456



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Action/Adventure, Developing Friendships, Gen, Mild Blood, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28031250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VGManiac456/pseuds/VGManiac456
Summary: Twilight Continent - a place shrouded with mystery and legends - has begun to show an increase in criminal activity, disasters, and Mystery Dungeons.  In a small civilized part of the continent, a Pikachu named Raiden finds a Fennekin named Scarlette, who was once a human.  With a common interest in mind, the two join the Stardust Guild in hopes to uncover the answers to the many mysteries that lie deep in the dark corners of Twilight Continent.  An adventure of a lifetime; one that is both beyond their imaginations and potentially dangerous.  What truly lies ahead of them?
Kudos: 3





	1. The Beginning of a Journey

Shrouded with dark clouds, Twilight Continent was facing a strong storm throughout the night. Rain falling hard onto the land and winds blowing at fast speeds, with only bolts of lightning illuminating the dark sky. While most were sleeping throughout the storm, one unlucky Pokémon living in Coral Town was unable to. Although he was able to get some sleep prior, the crash of thunder rudely awoken him, while the lightning on its own was tingling his body all over. “Ugh...why must it be storming now?” The Pikachu got up from his bed, looking out the window as the lightning would continue to brighten the sky and the rain splashing onto it.

Groaning, he looked around for a different place to sleep, but just as he was about to, he caught a glimpse of something brighter than lightning and heard a brief sound that was not thunder, rain, or even the wind. Turning around, he opened the door and stood just a bit outside of his home, only to see nothing but the lightning, the clouds, and the rain. Assuming it was just his imagination, he went back inside and tried going back to sleep. Shortly after he was starting to shut his eyes, he began to hear a strange, distant sound of a voice, which prevented him from sleeping. The voices were unclear to him, but he could make out something, a faint sound of his name being spoken: **“Rai...den…”** Ignoring it the best he could to just get some sleep, the voices were still somehow continuing to echo into his head, **“Please…get up...go to the beach...”**

Getting fed up, Raiden got up and slammed the wall with his paws, “SHUT UP! I’m trying to sleep here! I know you’re just a Ghost Pokémon playing tricks on me, so just leave me-” The voices never left as he continued to rant over them, until he gave up and focused on what it was trying to request, “...you’re saying...go to the beach? What are you: insane? That’s too dangerous with this storm going on!” The voices began to fade away as he questioned what he was hearing in his head. Frustrated, Raiden approached towards the door with some reluctance. _‘What if it is a Ghost Pokémon? And they’re trying to get me away from the safety of my home just to pull another one into their own world?’_ He was about convinced it was just a Ghost Pokémon, but his instinct was feeling otherwise, _‘On the other hand, what if it isn’t? But if that’s the case, what could it be? Someone in danger?’_ He shook his head and headed out, where the rain continued to fall. He glanced around from where he stood but still saw nothing. The voices returned, but hardly audible over the storm. He looked down the path where the beach was at, with the waves and tide large and rough. “You said the beach, then that’s where I’ll go...whoever or whatever you are...”

Raiden walked into the rain, keeping his guard up for anything that could jump on him. Then, a lightning bolt quickly struck him, to which he unleashed the electricity immediately, stopping his progress as well. Followed by that, he heard a loud sound, but looking around from his position, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Raiden relaxed for a moment and continued fighting against the wind and rain, until he arrived at the beach. His first sight were the rough waves and high tides, but there was also a glimmer of light that he caught from his side view. Raiden turned towards a small corner of the beach, noticing a small ball of light floating mere inches off from the ground. He took a quick look around his surroundings, but saw nothing particularly suspicious. As he got closer to the light, he could feel something more intense than lightning could ever generate. He could also hear one audible thing from amongst the rest of the sounds: **“Touch the light...”**

Raiden was hesitant to touch it, fearing it was a trick. But something in him felt compelled to follow the request. Slowly and closing his eyes, Raiden reached out to the ball of light, keeping his guard up. Once his paw touched it, it significantly increased its intensity and a burst of energy tossed Raiden far into the other side of the beach. He looked up and witnessed the light shining that rivaled that of the sun, preventing him from seeing exactly what was going on. After the light began to fade, Raiden noticed an unconscious Fennekin was at its place. He did not approach it immediately, but instead stood there in shock, “...what...did I just witness? Is this just some crazy dream I’m having right now?” Whether it was or not, Raiden pushed the Fennekin against a rock, as the Fennekin eventually rose and rested on top of Raiden’s back. Once he felt it was balanced on his back, Raiden slowly headed back home, feeling grateful the storm was calming down.

The first thing he did upon returning home was finding some blankets to keep the Fennekin warm. He was unsure just how much rain was on its body, but he wanted to make sure it would be okay. After wrapping them around the Fennekin, he settled down and pondered about the Fennekin, but eventually dozed off into slumber.

In the following morning, Raiden woke up, figuring what he had witnessed was all but a dream. It didn’t take long for him to realize the same Fennekin he brought in last night was still in his place, making it clear what he witnessed was no dream. Growing curious about their species, Raiden began to look on his book shelf. Pulling out a book about Pokémon, Raiden flipped through the pages, “Let’s see here...Vulpix, Boltund, Simisear...ah. Here we go: Fennekin,” Raiden began to read aloud to himself, “Fennekins generally live in the hotter regions of continents, although they’ll travel a lot after evolving to improve their skills. One of their favorite living grounds is Scorching Woods, due to the number of sticks they can find...wait. They eat sticks?!” Taking a moment to comprehend that, he stopped reading and also realized something else: “...so you’re far away from your usual grounds. But why is that?”

As he pondered, he could hear the Fennekin muttering in her sleep, until she yawned and stretched still with her eyes still closed. She also scratched her face a little, which Raiden thought was a little weird. Then, she opened her eyes and noticed the blurry image of Raiden. Blinking a few times, her vision was beginning to clear up, “Hm...what’s a Pikachu doing in my room?” She glanced around and started to show signs of panic as her expression began to change drastically, “Wait a minute...where am I? This isn’t my place! I don’t even recognize-” As she lifted up one of her front paws, she showed further signs of shock, “No...nononono! This isn’t even remotely possible! There’s no way I’m a Pokémon!” She turned to look at the confused Raiden with a clear idea what she wanted him to do, “You! Zap me, please! Wake me up from this dream!”

“But-” The Fennekin continued to demand it, so Raiden sighed and used a light electric attack to zap her. She wasn’t satisfied from it so she continued to demand a higher voltage until he stopped following her requests as she was standing there, struggling to remain up, “How many times do I have to zap you before you realize you aren’t dreaming?”

“As many times as its needed, now just-” Her eyes widened in realization as she backed off a little, “Wait...did you just...talk?! Now I know I must be dreaming; there’s no such thing as a talking Pokémon!”

“You are not dreaming, dang it!” Raiden yelled, slamming his fist onto a nearby table. Taking a deep breath, he explained everything what he saw last night to her, “And that’s that. I don’t know who you are, or why you’re here. The only thing I know is that you and I aren’t dreaming, but why exactly are you freaking out? Were you some different Pokémon before?”

“No. I used to be a human.”

Raiden stared with a blank expression when hearing that, “Did I hear you right? Did you say you used to be a human?” She nodded, while Raiden had a concerned look on his face. “I’ve heard of stories about humans becoming as a Pokémon, but I always thought those were legends and myths. Guess I was wrong then…” There was a long moment of silence as the Fennekin stood there, questioning to herself while Raiden was thinking hard about the situation he was in right now, “...by the way, my name is Raiden. What’s your name?”

“Scarlette.”

“Is there anything else you can remember?” Scarlette shook her head immediately, “Not even a remote idea why or how you got here?”

“Sigh...no. Honestly, I barely even remember my own human life; I just know my name and being a human at one point,” Scarlette sighed, looking down at the floor. Not expecting it, Raiden hugged her in an attempt to cheer her up a bit, “...thanks. For a stranger, you’re pretty nice.”

“I get that a lot,” Raiden released her from his grasps and approached towards his cabinets, “Do you want something to eat? I’d imagine you’re hungry, and you’ll have to adjust to your new body since...well, you used to be a human and all that.”

“I can move just fine, thank you very much,” Scarlette responded with high confidence and for a bit, Raiden was convinced immediately...until she stepped forward and fell onto the floor, “Ugh...on second thought, maybe not as fine…”

Holding back his laughter, Raiden helped her back up and went to open up a cabinet, “Let’s see...would you like an Apple or some berries?”

“I’ll take an Apple for now. That seems safer for me to try than berries right now,” Raiden got an Apple out and handed it to her. As he was grabbing one for himself, he noticed Scarlette struggling to figure out how to eat it. She tried picking it up several times, but fell on her back each time. Realizing quickly that wasn’t going to work, she let it stay on the ground and began to munch on it. Pleased with the taste of it, she went from small bites to quick gobbles until it was all gone, “That has got to be the tastiest apple I’ve ever had! Where did you get them?”

“I buy them from Kecleon. He usually gets a steady supply of them every day for a decent price. Unless you were referring to where he gets them, I think he gets his shipments from Mist Continent.”

“Mist Continent?” Raiden nodded in response, “...speaking of locations, where am I anyways?”

“Twilight Continent, or to be more specific, Coral Town,” Raiden finished his apple and got out a different book off from his small shelf. This time, it was one that showed the map of the entire world, “This is Twilight Continent, and we’re roughly around here.”

“Huh…” Fennekin was fascinated with the map, as she looked at the other continents that were listed. “You know, I never thought Pokémon would be so interested in making books, much less reading them. Least I have an idea where I am...although I don't recognize any of these places.”

Raiden heard a knock on the door, and left Scarlette to continue looking at the map. When opening the door, he saw a Blastoise, staring down at him with a smile, “Good morning, Raiden,” The Blastoise’s smile turned into a concerned look very quickly, “Or...I would say it’s good, but there’s been a situation. Have you seen any Nickits roaming around town recently?”

“No. At least, not recently anyways. Are they causing problems again?”

“When are they not?” Blastoise's response was a good point, which Raiden didn't have a response to. "Anyways, Kecleon reported his shop got robbed during the night, and folks are saying they spotted a Nickit sneaking around town. I don't think it takes much to put two and two together."

Raiden began to recall hearing the strange sound from before heading to the beach, now realizing it was possibly the thief in question, “...I’ll keep my eyes out for one then. Thanks for letting me know,” Blastoise left and headed for another place, with Scarlette confused. “Well, looks like we’ll have two things to do: get you used to our world and find a thief or specifically a Nickit. Shouldn’t be too difficult to combine both.” They began walking around town slowly, with Raiden keeping an eye out on her and for a Nickit. She was beginning to get adjusted as they walked around the small town, but occasionally, would slip and fall onto the tile path. Even so, she’d get back up and pretend nothing happened, which was strange to Raiden.

After looking around several times and asking around for any possible clues, Scarlette realized something: “So what does a Nickit even look like? It’s the first time I ever heard of one before.”

“They’re a bit bigger than both of us, have dark brown fur and big tails; not to mention a sneaky look on their faces…kind of a similar body structure like you if that helps,” Scarlette shrugged in response. “We’re just looking for any signs of a thief really. Anything that looks suspicious, but thanks to the storm, that has made it difficult...”

“And if we find the thief, we’ll catch him red-handed, right?!” Before Raiden could respond, he noticed Scarlette had a big smile on her face, “Wait...if I’m a Pokémon, then I can use moves like you can! I bet I have some amazingly powerful moves too! Ones that can easily stop a thief, I bet!”

Raiden stopped immediately, completely certain what she was getting excited about and about to do, “Whoa! Hold it! You shouldn’t-!

“Stand back because here comes a mighty FLAMETHROWER!” Raiden flinched and closed his eyes as she opened her mouth. But he slowly opened his eyes to see all that came out of mouth were small embers that gently floated in the air until they landed onto the damp tiles and quickly extinquished. Scarlette was a bit disappointed and confused, “Huh? For a Flamethrower, that sure was less exciting than I thought.”

“Sigh...Scarlette, you just came to this world last night; you likely only know low level moves like Scratch and Ember, not high league stuff like Flamethrower or Fire Blast. Even I don’t know any powerful moves, and I’ve been living in this town since I was a Pichu.”

“...oh. I guess you’d be right,” Scarlette quickly perked herself up, “But hey! Least I didn’t do any damage, right?”

“No, but you could’ve caused some property damage if those embers landed in the wrong spot. If you want to practice your moves, we’ll do it on the beach where it’s open space and less likely to hurt someone. In the meantime, we should be looking for any signs of a Nickit.” They spent nearly an hour looking around, checking around town multiple times, looking in the most obscure of places, and asking the folks if they saw anything abnormal. But since they were unable to find any remote clues about Kecleon’s robbers, Scarlette suggested she could get some practice with defense and offense.

Just as Raiden stated earlier, they went to the beach and thankfully, very few Pokémon were around at this time. Scarlette was free to attack and move around at her own pace, but that didn’t necessarily mean everyone was safe, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scratch your face.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Raiden responded quickly, covering the marks with his paws. “Ugh..but dang do those claws of yours sting…” He slowly lifted his paws off his face as he took a deep breath to calm himself, “Honestly, I expected you to run into issues when it comes to adjusting being a Pokémon, but you seem to have adjusted the basics of it.”

“Well, apart from walking on all fours and hearing Pokémon speak; I think I'll need more time to adjust to both,” Scarlette looked over at a distant cavern from the other side of the beach. “Hey, Raiden? You described Nickits as sneaky, dark brown furred and big tailed Pokémon, right?”

“Just about. Why?” He glanced over where Scarlette was looking, seeing a Pokémon matched that exact description. “That’s definitely one of them alright. No wonder we couldn’t-” Next thing Raiden knew, Scarlette dashed towards it, “Hey! Wait a second! Sigh...how energetic can a former human be?” Raiden made chase to which the Nickit noticed them and dashed into the cave, but before Scarlette could follow inside, Raiden jumped in front of her, putting both paws on her forehead to stop her movement, “Listen to me for a moment. That Nickit just entered a Mystery Dungeon. Mystery Dungeons are dangerous when you’re not prepared, and we are hardly geared up for entering one of them,” Raiden turned around to look at the cave, but he looked back at Scarlette, “That said...we can be ready for one,” He released his hold on Scarlette and was heading back to town, “Come on; we’ll gather up some things from my place.”

“Huh? You’re serious about this?” She asked as Raiden was walking towards town again. Scarlette followed by Raiden’s side when noticing this, “Wouldn’t it be better to just report this to Blastoise? Especially if it's something dangerous?” Raiden didn’t respond, but he stopped for a moment before opening his door. “Is there...some particular reason why you don’t want to do that? I mean, don’t get me wrong: I’d like to capture the thief in question without any assistance, but I don’t want to risk my life for it.”

“...I do have my reasons,” Raiden silently responded before opening the door. Heading inside, he grabbed a small bag hanging on the wall, putting a few items into the bag. He also opened a small chest that sat on a side table, getting out a shiny yellow Looplet which he put around his right arm. Just as soon as he went in, he came back out with the bag strap wrapped around his body and closed the door, “Let’s go.”

They headed back to the beach and entered the cavern. It didn’t take long for either of them to notice the differences of atmosphere, even noticing that there was no turning back as the entrance suddenly vanished behind them. Scarlette was beginning to feel a little more fearful than she was earlier, but still tried to maintain her confidence. As they traveled through the dimly lit cavern’s passages, the two were not fully aware of what actually dwelled in the cavern, especially when a small Chewtle headbutted Scarlette from a different side of the passage while a Binacle attacked Raiden from in front, “You didn’t tell me there was going to be wild Pokémon in here!” Scarlette growled as she used Scratch on a Chewtle, while Raiden was occupied with a Binacle. The Chewtle slammed its body onto Scarlette again, knocking her at Raiden pushing them both down.

Raiden took notice that Binacle was about to attack, getting up and pushing Scarlette off to one side before he took the opposite side. He responded by using Thundershock, knocking the Binacle out. Scarlette ended up using another Scratch attack, but almost got bitten by the Chewtle, causing her to back off. Raiden approached and used Quick Attack, putting it on its back as it rested their frustrated but eventually rolled over and minded its own business as if nothing happened. Scarlette was about to attack it, but Raiden stopped her, “It’s okay right now. Mystery Dungeons will agitate the Pokémon that lived here. They’re not necessarily wild as you put it, but it does take a battle to calm them down.”

The Chewtle disappeared into the dark as Scarlette looked over at Raiden, “Anything else I should probably know about?” Scarlette asked as the two continued to travel through the passages. Raiden; however, didn't respond and was too focused in traveling through the dungeon. Out from the shadows of a different passage, a Chewtle took a bite on Raiden's arm. “Raiden!”

“OW OW OW! Release me, you little biter!” Raiden demanded, trying to get his arm out while ignoring the pain. Scarlette dashed and used Scratch, followed with Raiden using Thundershock, knocking out the Chewtle and leaving a mark on his arm. “Dang...I knew they bit hard, but didn’t think it’d be that painful…” He glanced through his bag, grabbing a piece of cloth and wrapping it around the injury.

“Are you going to be okay? Is it bleeding?”

“I'll be fine; it wasn't hard enough of a bite to cause some severe bleeding. Just enough to make it sore for awhile, which is to be expected from their bites,” Despite the concerns, the two continued through the caverns until they began to hear echoing voices of fear. They turned to look at one another, “Did you say something, Scarlette?”

“No. I thought you did.”

HHEEELLLPPPP! Someone! the voice echoed.

“Whoever it is, they need someone’s assistance...like us!” Scarlette stated with great concern. Raiden agreed and the two continued until they arrived at the end of the passageway.

Standing at a dead end was a Drednaw, and in front of him was a panicking Nickit trapped in a corner, “I didn’t mean to steal from you! I was just trying to survive this dumb dungeon I entered in!”

“Hmph. You thieves are always the same: steal from others then claim innocent when caught. But not this time. This time, a lesson must be taught!” The Drednaw stated towards the shivering Nickit.

“Stop!” Drednaw and Nickit looked over as Raiden and Scarlette approached. “We won’t allow you to hurt Nickit as if it were prey to you!”

Drednaw looked at them confused, “Huh? Who are you kids? More thieves?”

“We’re no thieves! We’re the magnificent duo of electricity and flames of course!” Scarlette responded, which Raiden shook his head and was embarrassed at Scarlette’s opening. “But Raiden’s right. We can’t let you treat someone like that, even if it is a thief.”

“Hmph. You’re dealing with the wrong Pokémon, kids. Cause I am Drednaw, the king of Droplet Cavern! And if you dare mess with me, then you’d better be ready for my jaws!” Immediately, Drednaw opened up with an attack, narrowly missing Scarlette.

“Yikes! This thing seems worse than a Chewtle! Well, how do you like this!?” Scarlette used Ember, but Drednaw just hid in his shell. “Tch...that didn’t work!” Raiden used Thundershock which did some damage, but not enough to his liking. Drednaw used Rock Tomb, hitting Raiden pretty hard. While the Drednaw laughed, Scarlette tried another Ember attack but once again, he hid inside the shell. “This is getting us nowhere fast. Any ideas, Raiden?”

“I have one, but I'm going to need you to distract him for a bit.” Raiden responded, as he stood there, charging up.

“What?!” Scarlette was confused until she was hit with a headbutt by their opponent, knocking her into the wall. “Ow...that wasn't pleasant," Scarlette slowly got back up, realizing that her body was just hurt and not majorly injured, "...guess this body is stronger than my old one; that’s good at least…” She muttered to herself as she dashed and used a Scratch attack onto Drednaw’s face, just before he could withdraw into his shell. “Ha! Not so fast that time, are you?”

“Heh...you have no idea,” Drednaw immediately extended his neck, biting the tip of Scarlette's tail. Quickly breaking loose from the bite, she jumped on top of Drednaw and tried using a close-range Ember attack, “Hey! No free rides, kid!” He withdrew into shell and spun around, knocking Scarlette off and promptly hitting her in the process.

“Ergh...he’s tough…” Scarlette turned around to glance over at Raiden, who just signaled her to continue distracting. “...okay then. How do you like this?!” Scarlette landed another Scratch on Drednaw’s face, which Scarlette was briefly happy to see but clearly Drednaw was not pleased, responding with a Razor Shell that knocked Scarlette pretty hard. She struggled to continue to stand as she gritted her teeth, “...Raiden, please tell me you’re nearly ready! I can’t keep this up by myself!”

Raiden took notice and unleashed a charged up Thundershock, paralyzing Drednaw, “Gah...you little-” Scarlette used an Ember attack, which still didn’t do a lot of damage but was obvious he didn't want to take the hit. Even then, Drednaw just smirked, "You kids think you're so smart? Hardly. There is nothing I can't withstand!"

“We'll just see about that. Stand back, Scarlette!” Raiden hollered, as he pulled a round fiery-looking object from his bag. Scarlette wasn’t sure what it was, but when she moved out of the way, Drednaw's expression quickly dropped and showed confidence. “TAKE THIS!” Raiden tossed it at Drednaw, and upon impact, an explosion occurred, knocking everyone off of their feet and some parts of the cave covered with destroyed and fallen rocks.

Once the smoke and dust began to clear up, Drednaw was on his back, appearing quite helpless but still somehow conscious, “How could I have been defeated...by two weak children?! Hey you! I demand a rematch! Let me-”

Raiden ignored Drednaw as he wobbled his legs helplessly making demands constantly, and instead approached towards Nickit, “You’re coming with us, Nickit.”

“A-A-Anything’s better than being Drednaw food!” Nickit shivered as they headed out, with Drednaw complaining echoing throughout the cave. By the time they got outside, Nickit was starting to calm down, “Phew...thought I’d be a goner for sure. It's a good thing you had that Blast Seed with-”

“Now how about you return what you stole?” Raiden asked immediately, catching Nickit off-guard.

“H-Huh?! What are you talking about?!” Nickit growled loudly, “I didn’t steal a thing! The only thing I stole was Drednaw’s food, and I was hungry in there! I had a good reason for it; you can't fault me for it!”

“What about Kecleon’s store? According to Blastoise, the Pokémon around town have spotted you sneaking around; that's suspicious on its own.”

“C'mon. You know us better than that! We steal food, not whatever dumb merchandise Kecleon has usually up. And even then, I’ve learned my lesson after the last encounter I had from that maniac shopkeeper!”

“Then why are you out here away from your family? If you didn’t steal anything from Kecleon or even planned to, there shouldn’t be a reason for you to be here,” Nickit didn’t respond and appeared to be too embarrassed to offer an answer. Raiden sighed as he thought it over, “Okay...I won’t report you to Blastoise. Seems clear to me you weren’t involved what happened last night. But next time, try not to steal from a Drednaw. Those aren’t Pokémon you want to mess with and we may not be around to help you.”

Happy to hear that, Nickit nodded and dashed off, but not towards the nearby woods but instead a smaller cavern that wasn’t a Mystery Dungeon. During that time, Scarlette looked at Raiden confused, “How can you be so sure that he’s telling the truth? If their species steals and always causes trouble, wouldn't that make them the primary suspect?”

“I’ve been dealing with Nickits ever since I started living here in Coral Town, and this is one of the rare occasions where he wasn't lying. It doesn't quite add up to him anyways, so even if it were a Nickit, it's probably not him who did it,” Raiden looked over at Scarlette with a smile, “That aside, we managed to get through the dungeon together!”

“Oh yeah...we did, didn’t we? And we defeated a massive turtle by ourselves!” Scarlette chimed in, equally as proud. “The magnificent duo of electricity and flames succeeds! And you know what? That was kind of fun! In fact, I wish it wasn't over so soon.”

Hearing those words gave Raiden the opportunity he was looking for, “There is something we can do to make it more frequent, but are you certain what you mean?” Scarlette nodded, “Well, there’s this guild I’ve been wanting to join, but I couldn’t do it alone due to a rule requiring a minimum of two Pokémon to build a team,” Raiden looked up the cliffside where a dome-like metal structure stood on the top; Scarlette also looked up there, surprised to see it. “It’s called Stardust Guild; it specializes in unresolved mysteries across Twilight Continent.”

Scarlette quickly was growing convinced about helping Raiden when hearing that, “Unresolved mysteries? Would that include me being turned into a Pokémon?”

“It’s possible they might have something about former humans,” Raiden responded, “So, what do you think? Do you want to create a team with me? I do think we have the potential to make a great duo.”

“I can’t think of any reason not to! Sure, I'd like to know why I turned into a Pokémon and get back to normal, but I can put that aside for the time being. Just the idea of uncovering mysteries, exploring, and so much more...” The more Scarlette was speaking up, the more excited she was getting. So much so, she wasn’t able to contain any of it, and even Raiden was starting to laugh at how excited she was getting, “So what are we waiting for?!”

“You’re right. Let’s not hesitate any longer and make a team together!” Then Raiden felt his sore arm from before with Scarlette quickly remembering her own from Drednaw, “...erm...how about after we take care of our injuries a little more thoroughly? Shouldn't take too long anyways to do that." Scarlette nodded in agreement, as the two headed back to his place for further treatment and discussing about what they can imagine their venture will bring. All in the while with Scarlette wondering to herself if the mystery behind her turning into a Pokémon will be answered or not...


	2. Stardust Guild

As the sun began to set in the horizon, Raiden and Scarlette headed up the cliffside to enter Stardust Guild, but the two quickly got distracted with the sight of the ocean sparkling from the setting sun, occasionally seeing a Pokémon jump out of it and heading back down into the vast ocean, “I always seem to forget how amazing the view is up here. Practically worth coming up here just for it alone, but at the same time, it always reminds me how I couldn’t join the Guild, no matter how many times I asked...”

Scarlette turned her head to look over at Raiden who continued to stare out in the ocean, “Do you really think they’ll have the answers about me? Like, I guess I shouldn’t expect them to know who I am or anything, but rather an answer why I turned into a Pokémon.”

“It’s hard to say really, but I’ve heard Stardust Guild has a fantastic researcher that covers all sorts of things across the world. Whoever he is, I’m sure he’d have the answers,” Raiden and Scarlette walked back towards the entrance of the guild, with Raiden thinking to himself filled with eagerness, _‘This is it...no point in turning back now! Not with Scarlette by my side!’_

Upon entry, Scarlette took immediate notice of the area, stopping her movement to look at it, “...this used to be an observatory, didn’t it?” Raiden stopped from heading from a stairway and looked over at Scarlette. “It adds up to me, but...maybe not for you; I don’t know how familiar you are with man-made structures. Even so, makes me wonder what happened here to abandon such a place.”

Raiden began to take a better look around, seeing areas that once may have been something else. All potential signs that this once was a structure for something or someone, but despite that, he wasn’t sure what Scarlette was talking about, “I’m not really familiar with what you called this structure. All I know is that this once was a forbidden zone, until it became Stardust Guild. Should I be familiar with this...odd..absorb...whatever you called it?”

Scarlette chuckled when hearing Raiden trying to say that word, while also shaking her head in response, “I don’t think it’s necessary. To me personally, I just think it’s interesting,” The two moved on and headed down the stairs which was lit from the torches hanging on the walls. As Scarlette was stepping forward, she misstepped and fell forwards, rolling into Raiden. The two ended up tumbling all the way down until they hit the main lobby, “Ugh...I really need to get used to walking…” Scarlette glanced up to see several Pokémon standing there, staring at the two as they muttered to themselves.

Then, a Toxtricity just laughed as he approached towards them, “Hey. Are ya kids lost? Need some guidance perhaps? Or maybe hidin’ from your parents?” As Scarlette rolled off of Raiden’s back, Raiden got up, which the Toxtricity recognized, “Hm? Ya back so soon? Didn’t ya talk to the Guildmaster five days ago?”

“Yeah, I know, Sparx. But this time there-” Raiden noticed Scarlette was having troubles getting up and stopped for a moment to help her up, “Jeez, Scarlette. Are you okay?”

Sparx took immediate notice of the injuries the two had, as he had his eyes on the bandages that were covering parts of their bodies, “Uh...what happened to the two of ya? Got in the middle of a kerfuffle or somethin’? Or did ya prepare to fall down the steps ahead of time?” Raiden sighed as Sparx chuckled at his own little joke, “Guess it ain’t any of my business to know. But you know where to go to see the Guildmaster; he’ll be waitin’ for ya as usual.”

“Least I don’t have to ask if he’s in or not. Thanks, Sparx. I’ll talk to you later,” Once Scarlette managed to regain her footing, the two walked away and headed down one of the halls. As they did, Raiden noticed Scarlette was struggling to keep up and stopped to check on her, “What’s the matter? You were pretty energetic earlier. It’s like all that energy is just gone.”

“I’m...fine. I think I’m just...tired, that’s all.” Scarlette said, yawning a little and talking slower than usual. They continued on, but slower than they were going, “Maybe we should’ve waited until tomorrow to do this. I was just...excited about the idea, and you were so eager…”

“I doubt you being a Pokémon for just a single day helps matters either,” Raiden added, as he assisted Scarlette through the hallway, “We can turn back; wait until tomorrow…” Scarlette shook her head, forcing herself to continue forwards with Raiden and ignoring the exhaustion as much as possible.

Upon reaching the end of the hall, there stood a more important-looking door, “That must be it, right?” Raiden nodded, as they approached towards it. Not more than a few yards away from them, it slammed open suddenly, revealing a Snorunt and a white-fur Vulpix heading out of the room. For a moment, all four of them stared at one another, before the Vulpix simply walked by them without giving them another look in contrast to the Snorunt who gave a few glances before getting out of view, “Who were those two? That Snorunt seemed alright, but...there’s something about that Vulpix...something about its attitude.”

“I never saw them before either. Whoever they were, they are a Research Team judging from the scarves,” The two wondered before they entered the Guildmaster’s room. Upon entry, the door shut behind them, and after that, they heard very little. There was no sounds of wind or any distant talking from echoing from the halls; the only sound that could be heard were the flames that burned on the surrounding torches. Sitting in the other side was a male Meowstic, with eyes closed and appeared to be asleep. Raiden helped Scarlette lean against one of the walls before speaking up, “Guildmaster, I have arrived once again to request to become a Research Team! And for real this time; there’s no reason for you to deny this request!”

“Hm...I’m sensing a higher level of confidence this time, as well as the presence of another with a reasonable amount of confidence inside, albeit exhausted. Yes...perhaps now it is time,” The Meowstic opened his eyes and got up from his sitting position, “So you wish to join Stardust Guild, is that correct?” Raiden nodded, eager with the confirmation, “I am already familiar with you, Raiden. But this new companion of yours...who is she?”

Scarlette yawned before responding, “Uh...my name is Scarlette. I am...or was, a human,” The Guildmaster’s eye grew interest and focus on Scarlette as she spoke, “But now I turned into a Pokémon without knowing anything. Raiden believes that you have the knowledge about why I could’ve turned into a Fennekin. Is this true?”

“So you are what we call a former human in our presence. Intriguing…” A voice said from a dark corner of the room. At first, all that was visible was a red glow, but as it came out of the shadows, it was an Umbreon bearing red markings and purple eyes. She stopped next to the Guildmaster who made no response, “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Raven: Guildmaster Spectro’s second in command and partner. It is my duty and passion to study and research everything about this world, including former humans,” Raven took notice of Scarlette’s skeptical look, “I can tell you don’t believe me. Very well. Perhaps I should prove it to you: what do you remember about your human past? And you don’t have to give me your entire lifestory; just the important details will do.”

“I used to be a human...can recall my age and my name...not much else that I think would be important...or at least to a Pokémon.”

“So you have no idea what brought you here?” Scarlette shook her head. “Hmm...so far this is normal. Do you remember the very last thing you were doing just before turning into a Pokémon?” Scarlette shook her head, which puzzled Raven slightly but she shrugged it off, “I understand. It’s a common symptom for former humans to have memories of their past to be unclear, but eventually, you’ll regain what you lost. I recommend that you don’t think too hard about them; let them return naturally,” Scarlette lightly nodded, as Raven looked over at Raiden, “Now I want to know where you found her.”

“Oh. Um...well, you see…” Raiden began explaining the details on how he found Scarlette, avoiding leaving out any potentially important details, “...and that’s how we ended up meeting. Is that of any help, Miss Raven?”

Raven’s face looked concerned and more perplexed than before, “Unfortunately, I do not have the answers you’re seeking for. What you just described is something other Pokémon have not witnessed before. A sphere of light...tangible somehow…” Raven gave it a moment before she continued, “This may be something I’ll have to take a deeper look into. It’s certainly most fascinating and mysterious indeed...”

“I’m not fully convinced she knows what she’s talking about. For all I know, she’s saying random nonsense and lies, and...well...there’s no way to confirm it...”

“I can confirm Raven’s success rate with her research. She thoroughly examines all information, separating facts from legends and myths. It is not common for her to make a mistake, believe me,” Spectro said, easing Scarlette’s skeptism, “But to get back to the reason you two came here: starting up a Research Team.”

“...that’s right. I know Raiden has wanted to join you for awhile, and I myself...am growing more interested in this world and how it works. I feel it is the least I could do...for all the help he’s done for me so far...to help see his dream...come true....” Scarlette began to nod off but shook herself to keep awake, which had Raven concerned but didn’t think much about it.

“Then it’s settled, but first, I should give you two the basis of how our operation here works. Stardust Guild specializes in resolving mysteries across Twilight Continent. We research new grounds, unexplored territory, and much more.”

“Wait...hasn’t this place been established for awhile? Considering your guild to me sounded like it’s a well-known place and there’s a map of this continent and everything. What is there left to explore if you already know the land?”

“Actually, Scarlette; Stardust Guild only established itself about three years ago, and a few months of that time were spent to find members and building it up. So to put it in perspective, we’re well-known around Coral Town for our ambitions, but for the most part, it hasn’t gotten very far yet. The map of Twilight Continent currently available has been incomplete for a year now in fact.” Spectro’s answer shocked Scarlette to the point where she was more awake now.

“Wait what?! So how is it possible that something established itself that long hasn’t managed to explore this entire land? And someone with that much knowledge not know-”

“That is our purpose here from the beginning. Our interest in researching and exploring new lands has been our dream, but Twilight Continent is riddled with danger and mysteries we are still uncovering as we speak,” Scarlette continued to be surprised, but tried to process all that was being told, “And judging from the looks of you two, you seem to have already seen the dangers as is.”

Raiden had completely forgotten about their injuries until then, as he glanced over at himself and Scarlette noticing the bandages, “Oh...um...well, about that…”

Spectro chuckled, “No worries. I’m very well aware of your eagerness to join us, but I must recommend you two get some rest once you sign an agreement to join Stardust Guild.”

Spectro handed the two a sheet of paper, containing some basic information that Raiden already knew, although Scarlette was reading it more thoroughly. As she was, Raiden noticed an empty spot for a team name. “Oh right! We need a name for our team! I didn’t even think about that,” Raiden looked over at Scarlette, “Any ideas? I didn’t even think about this ahead of time...”

“How about the Magnificent Duo of Electri-” Scarlette started, but couldn’t hold back her laughter when thinking about it.

“That’s...going to be too long, and if we have a new member that isn’t a Fire or Electric type, we’ll have to change it every time…” Scarlette calmed down a bit as Raiden sighed.

“I know that’s too long, but I couldn’t resist. In all seriousness, I’m too tired to come up with any clever ideas. Maybe Team Uncover? Team...Mystery? Team PokéXplorers?” Then Scarlette had a smile on her face, “Oh! I know! How about Team Solar Flare?” Raiden thought about it for a moment, agreeing with the team name, writing it down on the spot. Then, signing his name before handing it over to Scarlette, as she continued to read the document. Once finished, Scarlette also wrote her name slowly, but after handing it back over to Spectro, he had a questionable look his face, “...is there something wrong?”

“...no. Not anything in particular. Just had to read your paw-writing a bit more carefully,” Despite that, Raiden and Scarlette both knew that something was catching his eye, since he did not stop looking at the paper until handing it over to Raven, “Am I seeing this name right, Raven?” The Umbreon nodded slowly as she too was examining it carefully.

“My name? What’s wrong with it?”

“Well, you introduced yourself as Scarlette, yet there’s three names written on here,” Scarlette tilted her head in confusion as Spectro asked that question, “To clarify, you wrote Scarlette, Adelaide, and Reyna on here. So...which identity is it you use or do you identify under all three?”

Scarlette finally realized what they were talking about, “Oh! I wrote my full name on there: Scarlette Adelaide Reyna. Isn’t that what you wanted? Or...was I mistaken?”

Spectro was intrigued when hearing that, “A full name, huh? Interesting to know...” His interest suddenly turned into concern which the two noticed, “While I have no issues with this being on our records, this seems to be very personal information that we can’t allow to be known in the general public. For your own safety, of course. But I promise that we will keep it very secure; only the four of us here will know about it.”

“Thanks, Guildmaster. I didn’t realize it would be such a problem, but...I’ll try to avoid doing it in the future...” Scarlette responded.

“As for myself, I’ll continue to research about your personal mystery. But it is currently getting late, and you two have clearly been through a lot for a single day, especially for Scarlette. I believe it’s about time I show you two to your rooms. Follow me,” Raven said, opening the door and leading them through a hallway where several doors were shut or slightly opened. The ones that were open Raiden and Scarlette could see Pokémon either chatting or doing something on their spare time. Raven opened a door and inside was a similar structure as the other rooms the two saw from before, “It’s not much, but you’re free to arrange it however you see fit. Just for a warning, we do have morning rollcall every day, so be sure to get enough rest for tomorrow. If you need anything else, let us know and we’ll see what can be done.”

“Thanks for letting us know. We greatfully appreciate it,” Raven nodded and left the two alone in the room. Not long after that, Raiden stretched and yawned with Scarlette doing the same thing, “Well, tomorrow’s going to be our first day. Wonder what we’ll end up doing.”

Scarlette slowly approached towards one of the beds, collapsing on top of it, “I don’t know, but...I’m tired, Raiden. It’s been a long day for me. Long, confusing, unusual…yawn...ready to go to sleep...”

“I agree,” Raiden turned off the torch that was lighting up the room, making it dark and the only light shining was from the moon. Although a little difficult to see, Raiden managed to reach the unoccupied bed, “Good night, Scarlette…” Raiden fell asleep immediately, leaving Scarlette to her thoughts as she was trying to fall asleep.

_‘...so much has happened, yet I’m excited and nervous about all of it. Being a Pokémon, finding new things about a mostly unexplored land, uncovering mysteries...sounds like fun but I hope we’ll find answers about me at some point…’_ Scarlette drifted off as she yawned one more time before falling asleep with the thoughts what tomorrow could bring for them.


End file.
